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NYU Hosts “Global Elite Debate Competition”

October 2, 2013
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New York University hosts the China Central Television (CCTV) “Star of Outlook” Global Elite Debate Competition on October 4th and 5th that will feature debates and speeches by Chinese and American students—from grade-school to college—to promote knowledge exchange and cultural understanding among young student leaders in both countries.

The event, which takes place at NYU’s Kimmel Center, 60 Washington Square South, features students from all different grade levels—including college, high school, junior high school, and elementary school. High school and university students will compete in debates while elementary and junior high school students will compete with speeches.

There will be an opening ceremony on Friday evening, October 4th. The debates and speeches take place throughout Saturday, October 5th, concluding with an awards ceremony and dinner that evening at Kimmel’s Rosenthal Pavilion.

The competition, which had its inaugural event last year at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, is an overseas expansion of CCTV’s “Star of Outlook” English Talent Competition, which attracts four million participants in China every year. Most of the 24 Chinese students participating in this year’s NYU debate competition were among the national finalists in this year’s “Star of Outlook” competition. The participating American students are from NYU and New York City’s top high schools.

The competition is a partnership among CCTV, the Dong Fang International Center for Educational Exchange (which is under the jurisdiction of the Chinese Ministry of Education), the Allen Asia Alliance (AAA), and the YC International Group. A television program based on the competition will be broadcast in China by CCTV.

The theme of this year’s competition is education as it relates to culture, finance, environment, technology, and philosophy. Taking a lead role in organizing NYU’s participation is NYU’s Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development and the host of the event is Yangyang Fang, a Steinhardt alum (Masters of Art Therapy ‘13).

Steinhardt Dean Mary Brabeck said, “We are honored to host the Global Elite Debate Competition at NYU. This event furthers Steinhardt’s mission of advancing knowledge and increasing cultural understanding around the world. We have every hope that the students participating in this competition will build upon their experience at NYU to become leaders and advocates for education and human development in both China and the United States.”

Chen (Edward) Wang, U.S. representative for Dong Fang International, said, “The Global Elite Debate Competition is a unique platform to promote knowledge exchange and cultural understanding between the young student leaders of China and the United States. This year's program would not have been possible without NYU's enthusiastic support, and we hope that this is only the beginning of a long-term partnership with New York University.”

Among the topics the students will debate include the importance of learning different disciplines, teacher responsibilities to help students learn, the importance of nutrition courses, how to promote cultural understanding, tuition costs and student debt, the future of online education, and the importance of standardized testing in college admissions. Judges for the competition include NYU and Fordham University professors and experts from the United Nations.

New York University, founded in 1831, is one of the world’s foremost research universities and a member of the selective Association of American Universities. NYU has degree-granting university campuses in New York, Abu Dhabi, and Shanghai; has eleven other global academic sites, including London, Paris, Florence, Tel Aviv, Buenos Aires, and Accra; and sends more students to study abroad than any other U.S. university. Through its numerous schools and colleges, NYU conducts research and provides education in the arts and sciences, law, medicine, business, dentistry, education, nursing, the cinematic and performing arts, music and studio arts, public administration, social work, engineering, and continuing and professional studies, among other areas.